Change of heart: Briercrest education provides important life direction for CTV Live co-host

Kayla MalankaStudent ReporterPosted: Feb 10, 2014

CTV Morning Live co-host Molly Thomas says her Briercrest experience helped bring important change to her life.

As a young Briercrest College and Seminary student, Molly Thomas formed the foundation of faith she needed that would eventually lead her to her new role as co-host on CTV Morning Live in Regina.

“I didn’t plan to go to Briercrest because I wasn’t a person who thought about going to Bible college. It still baffles my mind I went,” Thomas, the 2005 general studies student, laughed.

“But it became a foundational year for me. It was my launching pad for me to discover who I am. It helped me to understand what my identity is apart from sports and any accomplishment and understand I am just a child of God.”

Thomas said without the life-changing year at Briercrest, her life would have headed down a very different path.

“I grew up in a pastor’s home, so I knew about church and God and everything from a very young age, but it definitely wasn’t a part of my heart so much. It was more so in my head,” she explained.

“The few years leading up to college I was definitely falling away and really doubting a lot of stuff,” she continued. “I was also going through a lot of rough stuff in my life. I remember my sister telling my parents, ‘you’ve got to do something about her because you are going to lose her forever’ type thing.”

With a stubborn heart and rebellious spirit, Thomas agreed to attend Briercrest, where she could play basketball - a sport she loved - but had no intention of finding God.

“I wasn’t your typical Briercrest kid. My RAs (Resident Advisors), when they read this, will probably laugh because I gave them a lot of trouble. I came to Briercrest at a point in my life when I was only there for one reason and that was to play basketball. I didn’t listen to people, so I did a lot of work duty,” Thomas laughed.

“I definitely gave people a tough time those first 3-4 months and then God started changing my heart. He started teaching me about living out worship every single day and … how much grace He has for my life. I just started to realize, finally, that I was a child of God and that my life was worth living for Him and that changed everything. It was a full 180 change.”

Thomas said it was the love and compassion she received at Briercrest that made all the difference.

“Terry Wolverton was my RD (Resident Director), an amazing, amazing woman of God. If she wasn’t there I honestly think I may have gotten kicked out of school, but she had so much patience and grace. I think she exemplified how Christ is with us,” she explained.

It was through this support that God was able to work in Thomas’ life and grow her faith.

“It was because of people like Terry that said, ‘Wait, wait, wait, let God work and let’s give (her) a chance to grow’ that I just had the biggest transformation of my life. It was a credit to people that loved on me and supported me even through the toughest times,” she said.

It is a transformation that would help Thomas be obedient to God’s calling in the fall of 2011, as she worked as a reporter.

“I was working in Quebec City for CBC at the time, enjoying myself there. I was planning on going to Montreal to continue working for them when God just made it really clear and said ‘I want you to go home,’” Thomas explained.

“I had never heard that before, so that was definitely a new thing for me. So I was debating with my family and talking with people bike gamesKids games for advice. Finally my mom said, ‘just come home for Christmas and we will pray about it and figure it out.’”

In a step of faith Thomas moved back home, trusting God had something in store for her. It was then that she received a phone call.

“It was a call for CTV’s Saskatoon morning show. I had sat down and talked with them for a while and was praying about it and I felt like this might be a gig I could do,” she explained.

“I had never dreamed of being a morning show host let me tell you. I never, ever, thought this would be my gig because I love foreign reporting and I love overseas hard news, so I didn’t think this was going to be my thing.”

Intrigued at the prospect, Thomas kept praying about where God wanted her, but felt she would prefer to have a job in her hometown of Regina.

“Then last minute God worked it out. The anchor here (in Regina) wanted to go to Saskatoon and this job opened up. The timing of this was crazy, it was impeccable,” she said.

“I love my job. I get to be myself and at the same time I get to chase down interviews I really care about and give them more time than I would be able to in a traditional news cast. And it’s been a great learning experience.”

Always having had a passion for journalism, Thomas said it is fun to now be working at a place where she spent most of her time as a teenager.

“I used to volunteer as a kid at CTV as a teenager. I used to just sit and shadow journalists and watch anchors and pull live cord and do anything I could,” she explained.

“I kind of watched the industry from afar for a long time, so to be able to broadcast here at home in the same station I grew up with is pretty cool.”

What the future holds for Thomas is uncertain, but she would one day love to become a foreign correspondent. Until then she is just excited to be on the adventure God has in store for her.

“The adventure is what I am looking forward to as I move forward. Every day is new adventure God has been taking me on and I don’t mean that in terms of jobs or countries. Those are just the side, but just growing deeper and understanding Him and His heart,” she explained.

“Yet, does that mean I shouldn’t dream? No. If I don’t dream big I am offending God because my God is huge. So I need to dream big and I need to have those goals and I need to pursue the things that are on my heart, but at the same time I need to listen.”

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